Not his fault. The FO mismanaged his situation. They should have DLed him a long time ago, have him work his stuff out in Memphis, and we wouldn't be in this situation.

I feel bad for Franklin, since he was told this news by Tony in the clubhouse before the game and is flying back home. I feel for his kids. Must've sucked to hear your dad get booed at home. That's part of the business.

At least the bullpen is better.

Franklin was a dick about this whole thing.

I felt bad for Isringhausen when he was getting blown apart. He stood tall, took his lumps and never dodged his performance.

Franklin, OTOH, blames everyone but himself and attacks the fans. He's also a pretty supreme douche by all accounts.

So **** that guy. Good riddance 'frankie'; take your dumbass chin squirrel and GTFO.

Fair enough, but I still think the way the FO handled this situation was idiotic.

The idiotic thing done by the FO was not shitcanning his ass the first of May.

This.

And this.

BS, he made millions of $'s playing a kids game in the dirt. His family should be set for life. None of us know him personally. It's not a reflection on him personally. He was a failure on the baseball field this year. Has nothing to do with him as a person and family man.

Well that is good news, even if it comes too late as most moves from this group do.

Well, my internet was screwed for a couple hours and now I get the game on to find it 5-1 Cards. Again. Shit.

...and the ****in' O's are about to waste a bases loaded nobody out situation.

Team is becoming a joke

Need to trade jeremy vlad and lee

The young starting pitchers are nothing short of the hope of the franchise, and it's rather disheartening to see them all suck.

I feel like im watching the same game everynight

Well, tonight's not as bad, relatively, because I don't really give a **** what happens to Jackobaskets. But yeah, it seems like the same thing every night.

But I guess we can tip the cap to the Cards. This is their thread, after all...

We may only be a game or two out of first place but we have serious problems. We were in a serious slump. The new guys that came off the DL and some other underperforming players are stepping up. How long that can be sustained?

Seems like you guys have too old of a lineup. Reynols, Valad, the semi-good cubs 1st basemen back 5 years ago. etc. Is it the manager? The front office not allowing the young guys to play? You don;t have young guys?

Very simple. In order:

1) Pitching
2) Pitching
3) Pitching

Dont forget hitting with RISP

I'm trying to.

yeah, our guy that just came off the DL (Freese) is hitting .500 with runners in scoring position and two outs. That can turn around a game fast.

you guys have a helluva history. Great fan base. Hope it turns around for you guys and start kicking the shit out of the Yankees on a regular basis again. :thumb:

All the os need is baseball to go to a Balanced Schedule...

Yeah? So we can get swept in Oakland MORE often?

Anyway:

4) Hitting with RISP? Gah
5) Little presence in Latin America
6) Position players down on the farm? Not so much
7) Peter Angelos

We know that feeling all too well. Last year we beat the pants off the good teams and would get swept or lose 2 out of 3 to the Astros/Pirates/Royals etc.

Peter Angelos HE is number 1

It'd be nice just to poke 'em in the eye once in a while...

He meddles? Incompetant?

Personally, I think it's just reputation now. He's a douche, and used to meddle...a lot. He seems to have backed off in recent years and let McPhail run the club. Nobody likes their owner after a few years.

To me it's this: Tillman, Arrieta, Matusz, Britton. Everything hinges on those young starters and if 2 or 3 of them don't pan out you have to blow it up and start all over again.

Son of a bitch!

4-0 already?

Damn, I wish we played you guys more often. :D

You're headed for an almost effortless road sweep, AND we applied the coup de grace to Franklin.

You're ****in' welcome.

sure hope brian is hurt if not this is a problem

And I didn't get you anything. :)

Remind me again why nolan rides the pine??

Yeah, maybe they should just put him in LF every day sink or swim, shitcan Luke, make Pie the 4th OF. Find out for good if he can play or not.

You are officially on my Christmas card list.:thumb:

Radio guy says Berkman's homer landed on Eutaw St. For those of you unfamiliar with Camden Yards, that's a feat not often achieved. You gotta go a ways more, all the way across Eutaw, to hit the warehouse, though.

The Cardinal TV announcers said that only Griffey Jr. had previously hit one out onto the street. But, it was "only" 440 ft.

Junior actually hit the warehouse in the HR Derby in '93, but no one's done it in a game.

Holy crap, we're tied for first again. Unbelievable. :spock:

Keep ****ing doubting Tony LaRussa and John Mozeliak.

Not a problem.

Are you going to give Mo major props for signing Berkman?

If he's still playing in September.

masnRochRoch Kubatko
Matusz optioned to Triple-A Norfolk - School of Roch: The Orioles optioned left-hander Brian Matusz to Triple-A ...

Come on man, even if he falls apart late for $8 million he was a bargain. I'm no Mo fan but give the man his due for at least this one move. :thumb:

Although, one good move doesn't make a GM. :p

Trading for Holliday and signing him wasn't a good move? Or trading Edmonds for Freese?

you really want to get the ledger out and compare bad trades to good trades? Good signings vs. bad signings?

Sure.

Only trade I would consider a bad trade is DeRosa for Perez. The 3 way deal with San Diego and Cleveland wasn't great by any means, but we know what we're getting from Westbrook.

thats a Haren level horrible trade.

Haren is an All Star. Perez is not one. Haren has contended for the Cy Young Award. Perez likely won't.

It does defy conventional wisdom...I felt for sure the Brewers would just keep building their lead. First couple of weeks after the break will tell a lot. I doubt we get any better, but if Brewer's and Reds keep choking you never know.

Didn't realize the Rays and their fans were such bitches.

FoxTrax shows the plate ump got the call right. The pitch was absolutely inside.

Who did we get for Dan Haren when we traded him away?

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/new...598145128-1068



BALTIMORE -- Brandon Dickson went to visit his grandfather in a Montgomery, Ala., hospital on Wednesday. He stayed the allowed 20 minutes, stepped out of the intensive care unit and almost immediately received a phone call.

Afterward, he knew he needed to go back in and see his grandfather again, and thankfully, he was given permission. Dickson hadn't just gotten any call. He'd gotten the call. He was headed to the Major Leagues for the first time.

"It was a sudden thing," said Dickson, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Memphis, and who takes the roster spot of the recently released Ryan Franklin.




Brandon Dickson received word of his big league callup while visiting his grandfather in a Montgomery, Ala., hospital. (AP)

Dickson was pleased to report on Thursday that his grandfather is doing quite well, and the news of his callup certainly didn't hurt.

"He can't stand to miss a game," Dickson said. "I think he was probably more happy than anybody."

Dickson, a ground-balling right-hander, impressed the Cardinals in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee this year. He got off to a bit of a slow start at Memphis but has come on well in recent weeks.

His arrival provides an extra long reliever, and it also allows St. Louis to use Lance Lynn in a different role from the one he was called up to serve. Lynn, brought in as a long man, can now pitch later in games and in shorter bursts.

Actually it was a strike. Rookie ump had VERY thin skin, completely lost control of his emotions.

We must be talking about different pitches, because the one I'm talking about clearly missed the zone according to FoxTrax. IIRC, it was the 5th pitch of the AB to Berkman.

I'm wondering if we were even watching the same game, because I saw him show amazing composure while getting bitched at by Maddon and the pitcher that gave up the bomb to Rasmus. Most umps will get right back in a guys face and argue - he didn't.

We were, he turned and looked right away at the dugout. I don't really care about the Rays, just thought it was a strike and a rookie ump trying to show the world he was the reason everyone came to the park.

I was at the game tonight. I sat behind the Rays bench. They had been jawing at each other all game. I think it was the bench coach that yelled at the first base umpire that the home plate umpire is ****ing blind.

Yees, the Rays fans feel like they are getting screwed by the umps all year.

question? Why isn't Berkman getting some rest and playing just as DH this week?

One thing that I noticed because I was at the game was that Salas sure threw a long time on the sidelines waiting to come in for the 9th.

Because TLR is a meddling asshat who consistently outsmarts himself.

We will rally around Colby Rasmus and play some ****ing good baseball.

Anything new on Albert?

Just whispers that the FO is FOS. He will be out at least 8 weeks not 6 weeks.

Yeah, for him to miss only six weeks would in my mind mean that he's going to go from cast to the lineup on the same day basically.

Hamas,

My predictions are looking goos. Miller in 2012 and Martinez in 2013.

Carlos Martinez got promoted to A ball. Had 50 strikeouts and a 2.33 ERA in 38 2/3 innings at Low-A Quad Cities.


Shelby Miller was promoted to AA Springfield a few weeks ago, and he hasn't missed a beat. In 3 AA starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 22 strikeouts and 6 walks in 20 innings pitched.

Pujols could be back near All-Star break

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols' fractured left wrist has shown "significant improvement" following aggressive treatment to promote healing of the bone, likely allowing the three-time NL Most Valuable Player to return to the club immediately after the All-Star break, if not before, according to sources familiar with the situation.

A follow-up CT scan performed on Friday found a diminished fissure on the distal tip of Pujols' left radius, which was damaged when Kansas City Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit collided with Pujols on a play at first base during the teams' June 19 game at Busch Stadium.

Team doctors initially projected Pujols' return at 4-6 weeks and prescribed that he remain in a soft cast for up to four weeks before resuming baseball-related activities.

Pujols will be examined again on Monday when the Cardinals open a three-game series at Busch Stadium against the Cincinnati Reds. Unless a fresh concern arises, it is expected that Pujols will be cleared to immediately resume baseball-related activities. Such clearance would make it virtually certain, barring a setback, that Pujols would be activated when the team returns from the All--Star break in Cincinnati on July 15.

The club has been told that a best-case scenario could allow Pujols to appear in this week's four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cardinals are likely to proceed cautiously, however, and may urge Pujols to take advantage of the All-Star break before returning.

Pujols landed on the disabled list June 20. He becomes eligible to exit the DL on Tuesday.

After losing five of their first six games without their No. 3 hitter, the Cardinals enter Saturday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays riding a four-game winning streak that has propelled them them into the NL Central lead by one game over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Initial projections placed Pujols' return closer to Aug. 1, when the Cardinals face the Brewers for the first of nine times in a span of 32 days. Friday's finding suggests Pujols may miss as few as 15-19 games.

A rapid return would benefit more than the team's lineup. Protracted down time could have led to atrophy of muscles and ligaments supporting the affected area, diminishing Pujols' strength well after the bone had healed. An accelerated timetable minimizes such effects.

Pujols had begun to surge prior to the injury, raising his average to .279 with 17 home runs, 52 runs scored and 45 RBI. He drove a home run in the inning before being injured.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseb...#ixzz1Qy8NlgNZ

Hope so but after all the BS the FO feeds the media about injury's, nothing they release or leak is worth anything. In the morning, you had the Post Dispatch citing solid Cardinal sources that Pujols was only going to miss a day or two. By the afternoon, it was at least 6 weeks.

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/new...669964210-1068


ST. PETERSBURG -- The Cardinals agreed to terms with five free agents from Latin America on Saturday, the first day teams were allowed to sign players who were not subject to the First-Year Player Draft. The moves continued the club's recent commitment to an increased presence in the Latin American talent market.

St. Louis signed two 16-year-old left-handed pitchers: Dewin Perez (6-foot, 175 pounds) from Cartagena, Colombia, and Alirio Negrette (5-foot-11, 176 pounds) from Maracaibo, Venezuela, as well as 16-year-old Jose Godoy, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound catcher from Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Cardinals also signed Eliezer Alvarez, a switch-hitting shortstop from Santiago, Dominican Republic. Alvarez, 16, stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 165 pounds.

Perez and Godoy seem to be the headliners among the group. Baseball America reported that Perez received a bonus of $450,000 and that Godoy will receive $200,000.

Along with those four players, the Cardinals also signed righty Luis Arias (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) to what the team called a 2012 future services contract. Arias, 17, is from Bonao in the Dominican Republic.

All agreements are pending the passing of a physical, MLB background checks and the players' ability to obtain U.S. visas.

"This is a good group of young players that will add to our organizational depth," Cardinals vice president of scouting and player development Jeff Luhnow said in a statement. "It demonstrates our commitment to Latin America."

Alright we took the first one from the Reds. After last year the rivalry between the 2 teams is heating up.

Yeah, Carpenter is on a roll now.

Still in first place. 6 games over .500 and maybe we get pujols back tonight?

Albert is back!

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/new...s_stl&c_id=stl

ST. LOUIS -- Add another tool to Albert Pujols' already prodigious set of abilities. He has once again displayed a staggering capacity to heal.

Pujols was reinstated to the Cardinals roster on Tuesday, the first day he was eligible to come off the disabled list, after missing 15 days with a small fracture in the area of his left wrist. He suffered the injury on June 19 in a collision at first base with the Royals' Wilson Betemit.

Pujols will not be in the lineup but presumably will be available to pinch-hit when the Cardinals play host to the Reds at Busch Stadium at 6:09 p.m. CT. Left-handed reliever Brian Tallet, who has a right intercostal strain, was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Monday, to make room for Pujols.

Pujols updates injury status

In a news conference the day after Pujols was hurt, the Cardinals held out an expected recovery time of six weeks. The club figured that Pujols' wrist would be in a splint for four weeks, and only after that time could he even begin baseball activities.

Instead, the three-time National League Most Valuable Player has been working out for about a week. He held a playful impromptu news conference with reporters on Monday in which he alternated between joking that he would be out for four more weeks and acknowledging that he could return Tuesday.

Surprising only those who haven't watched his entire career, it was the latter outcome rather than the former. Pujols has been on the disabled list three times in the Major Leagues, and each time he has returned sooner than expected. Still, it's never been quite like this. An injury expected to shelve Pujols for six weeks instead cost him two.

Whether it's tonight or on a later date, he should slot right back into his customary place in the No. 3 spot in the St. Louis batting order, deepening an impressive lineup. Pujols' return will leave the Cards with four players on the DL, and yet arguably they are now the healthiest they've been all year. Moreover, catcher Gerald Laird is slated to begin a Minor League rehabilitation assignment this week, and reliever Eduardo Sanchez should return within a week or so.

That would leave only infielder/outfielder Allen Craig and pitcher Adam Wainwright still on the disabled list. Wainwright will miss the entire season due to elbow surgery, while Craig is progressing in his recovery from a fracture in his right kneecap.

The Cardinals went 6-7 in Pujols' absence. They scored 51 runs in that span, down nearly a full run per game from their average before Pujols was shelved.

Glad to see him back, but I hope they're not rushing him.

Maybe. I hope they don't push him back into the lineup to quickly and it causes a relapse or something bad.

It seems like we have a good chance to get our best players back in time to make a strong run through the second half of the season.